Uchiha Madara
Madara Uchiha (うちはマダラ, Uchiha Madara) was a legendary leader of the Uchiha clan. He founded Konohagakure alongside his rival, Senju Hashirama, with the intention of beginning an era of peace. When the two couldn't agree how to achieve that peace, they fought for control of the village and Madara was thought to have died. He rewrote his death and went into hiding to work on his plans to end world conflict. Unable to complete it in his natural life, he entrusted his knowledge and plans to Uchiha Obito shortly before his second death. Background Madara was born during the Warring States Period, the eldest of Uchiha Tajima's five sons. Madara and his brothers grew up on the battlefield waging constant war with the Uchiha's rivals: the Senju. Three of his brothers died young, leaving Madara with only his younger brother, Izuna. Madara and Izuna became very close through their shared loss and constantly competed with each other to get stronger. This, combined with Madara's naturally strong chakra, enabled the young Madara to defeat adult Senju in battle and develop a reputation as a genius. During his infrequent downtime, Madara met a boy his own age named Hashirama. The two quickly developed a friendly rivalry, be it skipping stones or urinating in rivers. Like Madara, Hashirama was also a shinobi who had lost brothers on the battlefield. Together they imagined a world where children like themselves wouldn't need to fight. As a precaution, Madara and Hashirama did not divulge their family names, but nevertheless discovered each other's identities: Madara was an Uchiha, Hashirama was a Senju; it was their duty to kill each other, even if they were friends. Needing to choose between his family and his dreams of peace, Madara chose to end his friendship with Hashirama so he would have no reservations over killing him in the future, a resolve strong enough to awaken his Sharingan. Over the following years Madara and Hashirama continued to meet in combat. Madara could never defeat Hashirama - even after acquiring a Mangekyō Sharingan - and Hashirama could never bring himself to kill someone he still considered a friend. In time, both Madara and Hashirama became leaders of their respective clans, a position Hashirama tried to use to broker peace between them. Although some Uchiha found the offer increasingly tempting, Madara refused due to Izuna's death at the hands of Hashirama's own brother, Tobirama. Madara used Izuna's eyes in order to gain "eternal" Mangekyō Sharingan and restore his deteriorating vision. With this new power he waged one final assault against the Senju and was summarily defeated. Rather than kill Madara to bring the era of war to an end, Hashirama offered to kill himself if it would stop the fighting. Madara was moved by Hashirama's gesture and finally assented to peace. The Senju, the Uchiha, and all their affiliated clans came together to found a village of peace, where children would never need to die in battle. Madara and Hashirama, rekindling their childhood friendship, called that village Konohagakure. But Madara's idea of peace differed from Hashirama's: where Hashirama envisioned cooperation with the other newly-formed villages, Madara desired control so the peace could never be lost, evidenced by his attacking Iwagakure's Mū and Ōnoki so that they would submit to Konoha's authority. When Hashirama was elected as Hokage, Konoha's leader, Madara also became concerned for the Uchiha's future, believing this to be but the first step in the Senju's dominance. The Naka Shrine had been in the Uchiha's possession for generations and was brought with them when they settled in Konoha. Through careful study, Madara was able decipher enough of it to learn of the history of shinobi: of the endless cycle of failed peace and the destiny of battle between Uchiha and Senju, but also a means of unity for the world. With this knowledge, Madara decided Konoha was a failed experiment. He tried to convince his own clan and even Hashirama of the same conclusion, but none would hear him. Madara chose to abandon the village, returning with the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox under his control to challenge Hashirama. They fought to exhaustion, and from the carnage of their battle the Valley of the End was formed. In the end, Madara, too tired to even keep his Sharingan activated, was killed by Hashirama. News of Madara's death spread fast and his corpse was secretly hidden to keep anyone from finding it and profiting from it. But Madara had planned ahead: he had scheduled an Izanagi to activate sometime after his death, changing reality to bring him back to life in exchange for his right eye's vision. He left a copy in place of his real body and went into hiding with a special trophy from his fight with Hashirama: a mouthful of Hashirama's flesh that he transplanted into his wounds. It was not until decades later, towards the end of Madara's natural life, that the cells had any effect, awakening the Rinnegan (in the process restoring his right eye). With the Rinnegan he was able to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, which he used to cultivate a mindless living clone of Hashirama from which he believed he had produced a White Zetsu Army. Over the years, Madara had perfected his plans for peace in what he called the Eye of the Moon Plan. But as his years waned, Madara knew he couldn't complete his plans in the time he had left. So he transplanted his Rinnegan into a young Nagato without the boy's knowing, intending Nagato to someday use the eyes to restore Madara to life. If Nagato was to do this, however, Madara would need an agent to act on his behalf and guide Nagato towards this ultimate goal. Madara waited, connecting himself to Demonic Statue to keep him alive until someone could be found. Madara spent this time keeping a close eye on Konoha to find a suitable pawn to take his place. During the Third Shinobi World War, Madara found a badly injured Uchiha Obito. Madara used Hashirama's cells to replace Obito's damaged extremities and placed a Forbidden Individual Curse Tag in Obito's heart as a fail-safe in case Obito ever turned against him. Until then, Madara began working towards corrupting Obito. He had Kirigakure kidnap the girl Obito loved, Nohara Rin, and seal the Three-Tails into her. He then manipulated events so that Rin would die at the hand of Obito's friend, Hatake Kakashi, while Obito watched. Driven to despair, Obito offered his services to Madara. Madara divulged to Obito the history of the Sage of the Six Paths and the Ten-Tails, the details of his Eye of the Moon Plan, and various techniques that Obito would need moving forward. As a final act, he left behind Black Zetsu - an infusion of he believed his will - to provide additional guidance to Obito if he ever needed it. With that, Madara disconnected from the Demonic Statue and, with his dying breath, entrusted Obito with his name: Madara Uchiha. Personality Madara's childhood was a product of the times he lived in: the constant fighting made him a perfectionist that would keep at something until he mastered it, and his triumphs on the battlefield made him self-assured, confident and proud in his abilities and talent. Whenever one of these personality traits was challenged, as they tended to be by Hashirama, Madara's competitive streak would emerge. Madara did not mind Hashirama's influence in this regard; he believed that the only way to survive in the shinobi world was to make allies with one's enemies. His actions and beliefs were singularly focused on protecting Izuna, his younger and only surviving brother. So long as he had Izuna, Madara was reasonable and kind, willing to make concessions for a perceived greater good. Due to having spent much time in his childhood interacting with an outsider, Madara had not fallen victim to the Curse of Hatred as much as Izuna did and even considered accepting Hashirama's truce, only to be talked out of it by Izuna. Madara changed after Izuna's death, becoming bitter towards the Senju, particularly Hashirama since he still had a brother. Embracing his clan's Curse of Hatred, he opted to die for revenge rather than compromise or forgive. Although he was briefly convinced to set aside his grief and try to replace Izuna with the collective family of Konoha, he could never shake the feeling that he was betraying Izuna's memory. The increasing isolation of himself and other Uchiha from village politics ultimately convinced him of this, causing him to fully break with any other attachments. During his time as a Konoha shinobi, Madara did what he thought was in the best interest of the village. Unlike Hashirama's more compassionate influence, Madara took a more merciless and ruthless approach. This was shown when the shinobi of Iwagakure only had purpose so long as they swore unwavering allegiance to Konoha and even though they were in a treaty, Madara demanded that they were to obey the village of Konoha first and foremost. Despite having reformed his friendship with Hashirama, Madara apparently didn't like Hashirama's approach for peace and forbade anyone to mention Hashirama's name around him when negotiating peace. However, in the anime, Madara was shown to have compassion too, as he was the first to help a young Sarutobi Biwako after she tripped and fell. He would also regularly have a kind and gentle look in his eyes instead of his usual hostile look when he was in the village and away from hostile environments. After his defection from Konoha, Madara's priorities became centred around himself, manipulating countless others in order to satisfy his own goals and putting in place multiple layers of contingencies so that nobody could ever diverge from his own intentions. As he valued only power and possessed so much of it, Madara therefore disliked to waste it on unworthy causes or unchallenging opponents, claiming disgust when he was forced to. Madara loved fighting above all else: the sights, the sounds, even the taste of his own blood. Yet he was very disciplined, calm and focused in a fight, never allowing his failed plans or attacks to upset him, never letting superior numbers or power intimidate him, and always willing to do whatever must be done to gain victory, even if he must "lower" himself with unbecoming tactics or excess displays. This made him versatile in combat, ever willing and able to change tactics and exploit advantages. He was perfectly aware of his talents and did not feign modesty, bluntly stating when he was stronger than his opponents and belittling them when they continued to defy him. Conversely, if he was proven wrong or somebody posed a legitimate challenge to him, he would admit it, apologise for previous remarks if necessary, and if he gained the upper hand, he would not drag out his opponent's suffering. The one exception Madara makes was Hashirama. Their years of rivalry left Madara with competing feelings of respect and resentment for Hashirama. He hated to hear Hashirama's name and at the same time grew excited at the prospect of fighting him. Madara considered Hashirama the only opponent worthy of his time and would gladly postpone his own plans if it meant prolonging his time to fight with Hashirama. In his later years, after developing his Eye of the Moon Plan, Madara became pessimistic about human nature, believing the cycle of battle to be inescapable. He also came to believe that humanity and the world are incapable of changing from what they were in the past. He believed the current, "worthless" reality, was built too much on the idea of winning and losing. For this reason he was deeply committed to his plan, so much that he would prematurely end a fight he was enjoying or kill any threat, even his own clansmen, for the sake of its success. In the end, after learning of Black Zetsu's manipulation and finding all his efforts failed, Madara became truly saddened and openly admitted to his mistakes and regrets. Appearing to finally break free of his Curse of Hatred, Madara openly respected Hashirama for making his dreams live beyond his own lifetime and reconciled with his childhood friend before finally passing away. Appearance Madara was a light-skinned man with spiky, black hair that had a slight blue tint to it. In his childhood, his hair was chin-length that parted to frame the sides of his face. His casual attire consisted of a blue long sleeve shirt and white pants. While on the battlefield he wore the standard Uchiha outfit: a black shirt with a high-collar left slightly open and the clan's crest on its back, with blue pants and bandages around his shins. Around his waist he had a white sash that held a sack, presumably containing his ninja tools. Later, his sash was replaced by a belt, adorned with pouches and various weapons. He also wore another sash strapped across his shoulders which he used to hold his swords. When he reaches adulthood, Madara let his hair grow to waist-length with shoulder-length bangs framing the sides of his face, covering most of his right eye. Although still relatively young, more prominent creases had developed under each of his eyes. At times, he wore crimson armour with numerous metal plates, forming protective guards along his chest, waist, shoulders and thighs. Most of the time, however, he continued wearing the same basic Uchiha outfit: a blue high-collared, long sleeve mantle that splits down the lower half and a simple, light-brown obi and a belt. During battle, he often carried an orange-brown gunbai which had a long black chain running up it. The anime also shows him wearing a metal belt, as well as a brown leather sash to hold some of his other weapons, and a pair of belt sashes to hold two of his swords. In his old age, Madara became extremely worn and emaciated, with his hair turned thin and white. He wore a simple black outfit and used his kama as a makeshift cane. When Madara was reincarnated his body's youth was restored, albeit with the generic effect of gaining grey sclerae and minor cracks all over his body. These disappear once he is properly revived. After becoming the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, Madara had dark red hair and grey-coloured skin, and he became enveloped by a cloak of chakra that stabilised into physical clothing: a full-bodied black garment with black pants, gloves, and boots, over which he wore a flowing white robe with six black magatama markings across his chest and the familiar pattern of a black Rinnegan and nine black magatama markings in rows of three on his back. A grey horn-like protrusions grew out of his left temple and overlapped his forehead akin to a protector with an upward-curve on the right temple, giving him an overall appearance very similar to that of the Sage of the Six Paths. After absorbing the recreated Ten-Tails produced by Obito, Madara obtained additional black magatama markings around his sleeve cuffs and the rim of his robe. He reverts to his former appearance after the Ten-Tails is removed from his body. Abilities Madara was recognised as the most powerful member of the Uchiha clan and one of the most gifted shinobi in history. Even as a child he was regarded as a prodigy, as he was able to kill several adult Senju before he awakened his Sharingan. History remembers him best for being able to compete with Senju Hashirama, a "God of Shinobi". For this reason, when Obito began operating under Madara's name, the mere threat of Madara's power caused the Five Great Shinobi Countries, including the normally neutral Land of Iron, to band together and trigger the Fourth Shinobi World War. After being brought back from death, he at different times proved himself more than a match for the five Kage and all nine of the tailed beasts, able to defeat all of them single-handedly. Madara was an adept sensor type, and could detect and recognise chakra signatures from great distances. His sensory skills were refined enough to determine a person's clan and the nature of their kekkei genkai, and even differentiate species. When amplified with senjutsu chakra, his sensory abilities were great enough that he could fight without eyes, locating targets and dodging attacks through sense alone. Chakra and Physical Prowess Madara was noted to have been born with very powerful chakra, even by Uchiha standards. This is partly because he was an inheritor of Indra's chakra. His chakra had been described as extremely foul and evil by both Kurama and Tobirama. His reserves were so large that he could fight nonstop for twenty-four hours before collapsing. Even in his old age, he had enough chakra to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path from its cage in the moon. His skilled chakra control allowed him to perform complicated jutsu with only a single hand seal, as well as quickly absorb and synchronise senjutsu chakra with his own without adverse effects. Although he primarily relied on his ninjutsu, Madara was skilled with taijutsu as well. During his confrontation with the Fourth Division, he easily tore through hundreds of opponents, disarming many and dodging attacks from multiple directions. Offensively, he could strike with precision before his opponent has a chance to react and overpower individuals twice his size. His pain tolerance was high, as he did not flinch after losing an arm from an assault by the nine tailed beasts. Ninjutsu Madara was well-versed in a variety of ninjutsu styles: he could place a juinjutsu on a target powerful enough to restrict their actions; he could perform fūinjutsu strong enough to seal the Ten-Tails; he could produce a barrier using his gunbai.Through an unorthodox use of the Shadow Clone Technique, Madara was able to fake his death, having a clone take the place of his corpse. Bukijutsu Madara was practised with a variety of different weapons. In his personal collection were seen giant shuriken, a kama, chains with weights, a kusarigama, and hand-held shuriken. He carried swords at different times in his life and demonstrated proficiency with a blade on the few occasions he's actually been seen using one. His trademark weapon was his gunbai, with which he could shield himself and redirect attacks, or utilise it as an ordinary weapon, wielding it as a mace or flail. With his gunbai, he could slice through the giant roots of the Ten-Tails' tree form. Nature Transformation As an Uchiha, Madara had a natural affinity for Fire Release, whether toproduce a wall of flames - which required the combined efforts of several Water Release users to repel - or cover an area with ash to act as a smokescreen. Madara could create powerful gusts with his gunbai to repel an entire platoon. Later in his life, he demonstrated uses of Yin–Yang Release, such as amplifying the White Zetsu or pouring his will into chakra receivers to restrict and control those he has embedded with them. Over time, Madara gained access to other nature types. After acquiring some of Hashirama's DNA, he was able to perform Wood Release, a simultaneous mixture of Earth and Water Release, with his skill being comparable to Hashirama himself. Madara could create gigantic flowering trees, whose pollen could render a foe unconscious, wood clones, and even a large wooden dragon to bind large targets like the tailed beasts and drain their chakra.By using Hashirama's cells, Madara could produce roots from his body to connect to and gain limited control of the Ten-Tails. After he became the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, he was shown using other chakra natures: first lightning, and shortly after that Storm Release, a mixture of Lightning and Water Release. Dōjutsu Sharingan Madara first awakened his Sharingan as a child. Initially each eye had one tomoe, but by adulthood his Sharingan had fully developed and he could keep them active near-constantly. Madara's mastery over the Sharingan far surpassed every other member of the Uchiha clan to the point only he could tell a wood clone from the original, and enabled him to see and differentiate chakra. With the Sharingan, Madara could place targets under various genjutsu after brief eye-contact to either paralyse them or relay information. This even allowed him control the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox which, once he had summoned it, gave him a powerful tool in battle. He was able to perform Izanagi to temporarily alter reality, as seen when he programmed one of his eyes to activate after his death, resurrecting him altogether. Mangekyō Sharingan Madara and Izuna were the first Uchiha to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. Madara's Mangekyō form appeared as three large tomoe with circles at their tops overlapping each other at the bottoms and encircling the pupil. Madara's Mangekyō possessed a rare "Straight Tomoe" (直巴, Choku Tomoe), which granted him an even higher capability of reading and predicting his opponents' movements. When his eyesight began deteriorating from overuse, he replaced his eyes with Izuna's, restoring his vision and giving him the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. In this form, his Mangekyō design took on a combined appearance of his and Izuna's: Madara's in the foreground with Izuna's thick straight lines stretching outward from just underneath. Madara was able to use his techniques even while not having any eyes. Having awakened the power of both his Mangekyō, Madara could use Susanoo. He did not need to fully manifest it to benefit from its use: with just its ribcage he can withstand an Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan, and he could perform attacks with only its upper half. When fully produced, Madara would hover within Susanoo to grant him greater range of movement. His Susanoo wielded up to two (four in the anime) undulating blades that could be thrown, then maintained and controlled remotely. Madara can also produce Yasaka Magatama of varying sizes. Madara's experience with Susanoo allowed him to fully stabilise its form, causing it to resemble a tengu with outer armour that was nearly impenetrable, which he calls his Perfect Susanoo. Its secondary pair of arms wield sheathed katana with which it was able to bisect two mountains. According to Madara, the full power of his stabilised perfect Susanoo was comparable to that of the tailed beasts, and no one had lived to see it a second time. Madara was able to shape Susanoo as an armour to clad the Nine-Tails, protecting it from chakra absorption techniques. The formation of his Perfect Susanoo distorted the very air around him, so much so that it completely freed him from Gaara's Sand Binding Coffin. Madara was knowledgeable of other Mangekyō techniques, or at least able to discern their mechanics after only brief observation. Upon taking Kakashi Hatake's Mangekyō Sharingan during the Fourth Shinobi World War, he was immediately able to use Kamui for the brief period of time he possessed the eye. Rinnegan Many years after infusing himself with Hashirama's cells, Madara awakened the Rinnegan. Because Madara was the eyes' original owner, only he could use them to their fullest power. He was able to switch back and forth between his Rinnegan and Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. With the Rinnegan, Madara could use all of the abilities of theSix Paths Technique, such as the Preta Path to absorb chakra. He could also use the Deva Path to perform Chibaku Tensei on a massive scale. With the Outer Path, he could use the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique and create chakra chains to fully restrain all nine tailed beasts. Madara could combine the power of his Rinnegan with the power of his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan for other techniques. When brought back with the Impure World Reincarnation, Madara was unable to access all of his Rinnegan abilities. It was only after being revived that he could summon and control the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, suspend targets in the air, and generate a corporeal invisible shadow to aid him in battle, which was powerful enough to knock down all nine tailed beasts. Upon regaining both of his Rinnegan, Madara was able to produce up to four shadows to aid him Rinne Sharingan After becoming the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki and regaining both his Rinnegan, Madara awakened a Rinne Sharingan on his forehead by approaching the moon. With this eye, he could cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Intelligence Madara's years of experience on the battlefield had honed his strategic ingenuity. When entering a fight, he could quickly devise a number of approaches so that, should one approach prove ineffective, he could switch to another immediately. The more time he spent against a particular opponent, the less need he had for these backup tactics, as he eventually could both predict what they would do and identify literal or psychological weaknesses for him to exploit. In addition to his sheer adaptability, Madara was simply knowledgeable of a large variety of individuals and abilities, allowing him to identify jutsu as soon as they were performed and react with the most appropriate counter to them. Body Modifications In addition to amplified chakra and Wood Release, infusing Hashirama's DNA into himself gave Madara regenerative powers, allowing him to heal most injuries in seconds. Should he lose any anatomy beyond his ability to heal, he could immediately replace it with the special material that makes up the White Zetsu's bodies. When reincarnated, Yakushi Kabuto modified Madara to be "beyond his physical and combat prime", restoring his youth while retaining the abilities he developed in his old age. Kabuto's modifications resulted in a pale replica of Hashirama's face appearing on Madara's left pectoral region, which granted Hashirama's abilities to his reincarnated body. After being properly revived, he was able to absorb Hashirama's senjutsu chakra, causing the replica of his face to develop Sage Mode markings. Although he didn't have direct access to Sage Mode, he gained certain benefits of the form, such as heightened sensory and regenerative abilities, as well as increased durability. Jinchūriki Transformations Madara sealed the Ten-Tails into his body shortly after Obito's own failed effort. Madara was noted to have obtained more power than Obito did, and likewise did not need to go through an adjustment period to gain control of it. He became faster than the Flying Thunder God Technique and Kamui, and durable enough to survive even the Night Guy. His regenerative powers were high enough to survive bisection, and soon after completely restore himself, causing Madara to declare himself immortal. In this form, Madara could fly and harness natural energy to enhance his various techniques. Most crucially to Madara's purposes, he was able to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi as well as God: Nativity of a World of Trees. As the Ten Tails' jinchūriki, Madara could use Truth-Seeking Balls, ten black orbs comprised of all five basic nature transformations, Yin–Yang Release and the Six Paths Sage Chakra. The balls are his primary weapons and generally float behind him in a halo-like formation. The black chakra is highly malleable, able to be shaped into various forms for different uses, such as high speed projectiles, protective barriers, and various weapons, including a shakujō with a crescent-shaped curve. With his complete control over the Ten-Tails' power, Madara could apply Yin–Yang Release to nullify all ninjutsu the balls come in contact with. Other Skills Madara was a researcher, having experimented and cultivated a mindless clone flower through the Demonic Statue of Outer Path and from it create a life-support system to extend his life. He had enough medical knowledge to transplant eyes, treat severe injuries, and replace destroyed body parts with the White Zetsu matter. Legacy After his second death, Madara's greatest lasting influence was in Obito's actions, who used Madara's knowledge to create Akatsuki. Several years later, when Obito began operating under Madara's name, the mere possibility that he was truly Madara was enough to unify the ninja of the Five Great Shinobi Countries and trigger the Fourth Great Shinobi World War. Madara's actions during life, and even those subsequent actions of Obito, would end up having disastrous effects for the Uchiha clan. Following Madara's betrayal of Konoha, the Uchiha were entirely isolated from any form of control over Konoha's future, chiefly because of the actions of Senju Tobirama. At the time, some Uchiha saw this as proof of what Madara always feared, but the fears subsided with time. Years later, when Obito causes the Nine-Tails' Attack on Konoha, Konoha once again becomes suspicious of the Uchiha and the Uchiha once again feel wronged. This time, however, their discontent does not subside. When the Uchiha begin planning to overthrow Konoha, the upper echelons of Konoha's government instead order the Uchiha Clan Massacre. Trivia *"Madara" (斑) can be translated as "spots". *Studio Pierrot's Settei sheets of Madara show that he was 143.5cm when he met Hashirama. *According to the databook(s): **Madara's hobby was falconry. **Madara's favourite food was inarizushi, while his least favourite was roe. **Madara wished to fight the upper class Konoha ninja. **Madara's favourite phrase was "Armour-sleeved single hit" (鎧袖一触, Gaishū Isshoku), which refers to defeating someone with a single blow. Category:Characters Category:Akatsuki Category:Uchiha Clan Category:Konohagakure Category:Jinchūriki